Adjustable lubricating fitting



'OGL l5 1940.` F EHNTS I h ADJUSTABLE LUBRICATNG FITTING Filed July 30, 1938 INVENTQR M M' BYv ATTORZEYS L? Patented Oct. 15, 1940l PATENT GFFICE 2,217,139 ADJUSTABLE LUmcA'rmG FrrmG Fred Henry Ehnts, Lansdowne, Pa., asslguor to` Keystone Lubricating Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 30, 1938, Serial No. 222,102

iltting and aims to provide certain improvementsv therein. More particularly, it relates to an adjustable tell-tale tting for giving a visual indi- 5 cation when a ball or other bearing being lubricated with a viscous lubricant through such fitting has been supplied with an adequate amount of lubricant.

In the use of tell-tale lubricating iittings of the l general type disclosed in my co-pending application, No. 203,011, filed April 20, 1938, various factors must be taken into consideration in order to obtain the desired tell-tale or indication that the bearing to which the fitting is attached has been l supplied with the requisite amount of viscous lubricant. These factors are the size of bearing to be lubricated; (2) the l ation of the fitting with respect to the bearing housing; (3) the length of the extension member where remote applica- 2 tion of the lubricant to an inaccessible bearing is resorted to; (4) the character and size o! the o passages through which the lubricant must pass,

etc.

'I'he standard fitting shown in Figs. 1 to 3 of my aforementioned application is calibrated to provide for the proper lubrication of ball or roller bearings where the tting is connected directly to the opening in the bearing housing and the housing clearance around the anti-friction member races is not large. Where extension members are employed my aforesaid application also discloses a type of iltting for insuring proper lubrication with diil'erent lengths of extension members. In these various forms of tell-tale ilttings the pressure at which the viscous lubricant will back-up and exude from the tell-tale openings is governed by (1) the minimum cross-sectional area of the spacing between the supply tube and the wall of the back pressure chamber surrounding the supply tube and (2) by the skin or surface friction of the viscous lubricant in passing over the complementa] walls of the tube and the chamber. Hence by controlling these factorsthe back-pressure of the lubricant can be governed. It is accordingly the primary object of my invention to provide an adjustable fitting by means of which the back-pressure therethrough necessary for providing the tell-tale can be easily and accurately governed. A further object is to pro- 5 vide a tell-tale iitting which may be used with various characters of Ibearings and bearing housings as well as with extension members for such housings. A further objectis' to provide such tting which can be adjusted to govern theback pressure necessary for the tell-tale while the fit (Cl. 18d-105) ting is in place on a bearing housing and the like. A still further object is to provide such iitting with indicia to indicate the character of the adjustment made or to be made in the iitting for any particular situation.

The foregoing and other objects not speciilcally enumerated I accomplish by forming the fitting ot relatively adjustable axial parts .to vary the crosssectional area between the interior and exterior walls of the casing and the tubular element respec- )o tively and providing means for locking said parts in adjusted relation. Preferably the walls referred to are compiementally tapered so that by varying the axial relationship lbetween the parts the cross-sectional area therebetween will be ll varied.

The invention will be better understood from the detailed description which follows when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing which shows certain preferred embodi- 20 ments, and wherein,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a iitting embodying my invention;

Fig, 2 is an axial section through the fitting shown in Fig. 1 connected to a bearing housing 25 which is also shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the iitting connected to an extension member of a bearing housing; l

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the plane of the 30 line 4 4 of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a section taken along the plane ofthe line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is an axial section through a modied form of the invention.

Referring first to Figs. l to 5 of the drawing', the adjustable fitting disclosed therein consists of a casing composed of two sections Il and II and a central tubular element I2.

The casing section I0 is of general tubular form 40 having an internal iiange I3 intermediate its ends and to which one end of the tubular element I2 is secured by being either force iitted into the opening in said ange or by being snugly ntted through said opening and having the free end oi' 46 the tubular element swaged or upset over the flange as indicated at I4. The internal wall of the casing section I0 above the ange I3 is internally screw-threaded, as indicated at I5, to accommodate any form or type of supplemental ilt- 5 ting for engagement by a grease gun or other source of viscous lubricant supply means. The internal wall of the casing section below the ange I3 is also screw-threaded as indicated at I6 for engagement withthe external screw-threads II on the inner casing section II Formed in the wall of the casing section I0 below the ange I3 .so as to establish lopen communication between the bore of the screw threaded portion I6 and the exterior of the casing are a plurality of lateral openings I8. Preferably the casing section I0 at its outer end is externally of polygonal shape to provide wrench-engaging surfaces.

'Ihe inner section II is also of general tubular form and at its lowermost or free end is externally threaded as indicated at I9 for engagement with a bearing housing or other member for receiving the lubricant on its discharge from the fitting. For securing the fitting to the housing or the like, the casing section I I, in spaced relation to the screw-threaded end I9, is formed with a polygonal wrench-engaging portion 20. En.- gaging over the screw-threaded portion I1 is a nut 2| the function for which will presently ap pear. The casing section Il has a conical bore 22 of complemental taper to the exterior surface 2l of the tubular element I2.

The tubular element I2 being fixedly carried by the casing section I0, it will be appreciated that as the casing section II is screw-threaded into the casing section I0 that the cross-sectional area of the space between the conical. walls 22 and 23 in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the members will vary from a maximum when the sections are first brought into engagement, to a minimum of zero when the walls come into contact with each other. 'I'he area of opening between the conical walls 22 and 23 will govern the back-pressure at which viscous lubricant which is charged through the central bore ,24 lof the tubular element will, after being charged into a bearing housing 25, or tubular extension member 26, back up between said complementa] walls and exude out through the openings I8.

The size of the bearing t0 be lubricated, the 1ocation of the tting with respect to the bearing housing, the length of the extension member where remote application of lubricant to' the bearing housing must be resorted to, the character and size of the passages through which the lubricant must pass, etc., are all factors which govern the' amount of lubricant which will be charged into a bearing housing under a deilnite area of opening between the walls 22 and 28. Hence, where any of these factors vary it becomes necessary to vary the area of the cross-sectional area between the walls which, as aforestated, is accomplished by relative adjustment of the casing section II with respect to thecasing section I0. When a desired adjustment is obtained, to hold this adjustment against variation the lock nut 2| is tightened up into engagement with the end of the casing section I0 to hold the parte in denitely nxed relation. Furthermore, to provide a definite indication as to the adjustment between the casing sections III and II for any given bearing or extension member to be lubricated, the outer wall of the casing section I0 is provided with indicia corresponding to the degree of a complete turn of one of the casing sections with respectA to the other.

In Fig. 2 the ttings is shown as applied to a bearing housing 25 having an angular lubricant receiving duct 21, which introduces additional resistance to the movement of the lubricant being charged into the housing and in view of which it will be appreciated that in order to insure a proper supply of lubricant to the casing, the back pressure necessary to provide the proper tell-tale will be greater than where no obstruction to the amarte passage of lubricant is encountered. In other words, where obstructions to the passage ci. lubricant are encountered the cross-sectional area of the space between the complemental walls 22 and 22 will be less than where the lubricant is charged without obstruction directly into a bearing housing.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the fitting as attached to an extension member 2l connected to a beaning housing 28. To obtain a tell-tale when lubricating a bearing housing from a point remote from the housing, for example through an extension member such as 26, it has been determined by applicant that' the resistance to the backing up of lubricant through the iltting will be progressively greater in longer extension meinbers, hence by varying the cross-sectional area of opening between the complemental walls 22 and 23, the ntting may be adiusted to provide a tell-tale when applied to any length of extension member.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a modiiled form of ccnstruction oi'fltting in which in lieu of the casing being formed of two adjustable sections, the cas ing is formed as a single member and the tubular element is provided with an adjustable member. In this modification the casing I0' at its inner end is externally screw-threaded, as indicated at 29 for connection of the fitting with a part to be lubricated; and the bore of the fitting at its inner end is of conical form as indicated at l0. The tubular element is flxedly carried by the casing I II' as in the rst form described, and is externally screw-threaded and carries a nut 3l having an outer wall which is complementally tapered to the bore III for relative adjustment with respect thereto. Said tubular element I2' also carries a lock-nut 32 for holding the nut SI in any adjusted position on the tubular element. In the modication shown in Figs. 1 to 5 it will be appreciated that adjustment of the fitting can be made either priorl to or after the tting is attached to the part to be lubricated. The fitting ci' Fig. 6,- however, must be adjusted prior to its attachment to-the part to be lubricated.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be appreciated that I have provided an adjustable fitting which is adapted for general use, since with the one tting a desired tell-tale can be obtained when the ttng is attached to different typs of lubricant-receiving members by varying the cross-sectional area of opening in the tting and thereby insure a tell-tale when the desired amount of lubricant has been charged into the member. The forms of the invention described are considered to be preferred embodiments but it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the precise constructions disclosed since it will be apparent that changes therein may be made within the range of engineering skill, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A fitting of the character described, comprising a tubular casing having means for attachment to a member for receiving viscous lubricant, a tubular element within the casing having one end adapted for connection with a source of viscous lubricant and the other end adapted to discharge said lubricant into the member to which the casing is adapted for connection, the casing and the tubular element having normally spaced apart interior and exterior walls respectively, providing a chamber, means for varying the effective area of opening leading from the lubricant receiving member to the chamber, means for locking the parts in anyrelation to which they have been adjusted and the casing having an opening through its wall leading from the chamber within the casing provided by the spaced walls to the exterior of the casing.

2. A fitting of the character described, comprising a tubular casing having means for attachment to a member for receiving viscous lubricant, a tubular element within the casing having one end adapted for connection with a source of viscous lubricant and the other end adapted to discharge said lubricant into the member to which the casing is adapted for connection, the casing and the tubular element having normally spaced apart interior and exterior walls respectively, providing a chamber, means for varying the ei'ective area of opening between said walls, means for locking the parts in any relation to which they have been adjusted and the casing having an opening through its wall leading from the chamber within the casing provided by the spaced walls to the exterior of the casing 3. A fitting according to claim 1 wherein the interior and exterior walls oi the casing and the tubular element respectively have complementally tapered portions.

4. A tting according to claim 1 wherein the tubular element is xedly carried by the casing and the casing consists of ltwo axially adjustable sections.

5. A fitting according to claim i wherein the tubular element is flxedly carried by the casing and the casing consists of4 two axially adjustable sections, the one which is movable relatively to the tubular element having the means thereon for attachment to a member for receiving viscous lubricant.

6. A iltting according to claim l wherein the tubular element is xedly carried by the casing which consists of two screw-threadedly connected sections and means thereon for locking the sections in any desired axial relation.

7. A fitting according to claim 1 wherein the tubular element is iixedly carried by the casing which consists of two screw-threadedly connected sections and means thereon for locking the sections in any desired axial relation, the section which is movable relatively to the tubular element having the means thereon forv attachment to a member for receiving viscous lubricant.

8. A fitting according to claim 1 wherein the tubular element is fixedly carried by the casing which consists of two screw-threadedly connected sections, the section which'is movable relatively to the tubular element -being screw-threaded at both ends and a lock nut on said movable section for abutting the other section to lock the sections in any desired axial relation.

9. A tting according to claim 1 wherein the tubular element is xedly carried by the casing and has an axially adjustable section thereon which has an exterior wall adapted to be brought in adjustable spaced relation to the interior wall on the casing for Varying the effective area of opening therebetween.

10. A tting according to claim 1 wherein the tubular element is xedly carried by the. casing and has an axially adjustable section thereon which has an exterior wall adapted to be brought in adjustable spaced relation to the interior wall on the casing for varying the effective area of opening therebetween, and said tubular element having the means thereon for locking the parts in any relation to which they have been adjusted.

FRED HENRY EHNTS. 

